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The Carrot is an economically important horticultural crop that
has gained popularity since world War Two due to increased awareness of its
nutritional value and versatility. Orange carrots are highly revered as “good for the eyes” due
to their high content of hydrocarbon carotenoids, a class of phytochemicals that
are often precursors to vitamin A. α- and β-Carotene predominate in orange
carrots.

The imposition of food rationing brought severe shortages
and the UK Government looked for alternatives. Enter the carrot. The
government's Food Ministry produced lots of information on how carrots could be
used as a viable substitute for non-available/restricted goods. In parallel the
Agriculture Ministry encouraged increased commercial production of carrots,
through various incentives. This was very successful leading to a surplus of
carrots in early 1942.

During the 6 years of World War Two the UK Ministry of Food did
its best to drum up enthusiasm for carrots as a substitute for rationed goods. Doctor Carrot, carrying a bag marked " Vit A", was
prominently featured on pages of recipe
books and extensive advertising campaigns in the press, cinema and on the radio.

World war Two revived the popularity of the carrot and gave
it a rightful place in the kitchen, elevated to a new high as a major food and
nutritional source.

Carrots also feature during World War II as a
secret code message was broadcast by the BBC French language service to tell the
French resistance of the upcoming invasion of Normandy on D Day - (“les carottes
sont cuites, je répète, les carottes sont cuites” = “The carrots are cooked, I
repeat, the carrots are cooked!”). The resistance fighters were preparing
themselves to sabotage railway lines and telephone exchanges.

At 0915 on June 4th 1944 Radio London broadcast several messages,
that to the casual listener seemed nonsensical.
In fact the term is an old French turn of phrase.When making a stew, the carrots are said to be the last vegetables to be
cooked. So when the carrots are already cooked, it’s game over, no more
additional action can be done - no turning back. The next day 24000 soldiers of
the allied forces waded into French Normandy and, in an epic battle, liberated
it from the Nazi stronghold.

Carrots were truly one of the foods that helped win the war.
People experienced culinary delights such as curried carrot, carrot jam, carrot
puddings and a homemade drink called Carrolade. Most of these "delicacies" were
nothing new and items such as cakes, puddings and jam had been enjoyed
throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.

Keeping a nation fed on wartime rations took remarkable
ingenuity and a very strong stomach.

Carrots also played a small part in winning the air battle.
Famously, the UK Food Ministry responded to a temporary wartime oversupply of carrots
by suggesting, through propaganda, that the RAF's exceptional night-flying and
target success, was due to eating high carotene content carrots. The suggestion
worked and the consumption of carrots increased sharply because people thought carrots
might help them see better in the blackout, thus taking the pressure off other food
supplies.

The full story of the "See in the Dark" Campaign and
the alleged "myths" surrounding this issue are discussed in detail, with
definitive answers on a
separate page - here.

During the Second World War (1939-45)Food,
and in particular the lack of it, was central to the experience of the
Second World War. Carrots were one vegetable which was in plentiful supply
and as a result were widely-utilised as a substitute for scarce foodstuffs
and used in several "mock" recipes. It was also a major ingredient of the
Campaign called Dig for Victory, which was extensively publicised with
songs and posters featuring Dr Carrot and Potato Pete. It was run for most
of the war by Professor John Raeburn, a respected agricultural economist,
who joined the Ministry of Food in 1939 as a statistician and two years
later was appointed to lead the Agricultural Plans Branch. See the US Dig for Victory posters here.

Read what advice the US Government gave to its citizens in 1944 -
here.

Before the war, Britain imported 70% of its food; this required 20 million
tons of shipping a year. 50% of meat was imported, 70% of cheese and sugar, 80%
of fruits, 70% of cereals and fats, 91% of butter. Knowing this would lead the
Axis powers into hoping to starve the British population into submission, by
cutting off those food supply lines.

By 1941 the German blockade of food supply ships created food shortages had
made things very difficult and the phrase "The Kitchen Front" came into use. It
encouraged housewives to feel they were contributing to the war effort by
cooking wisely and not wasting food. The British population emerged healthier
than it had ever been before, and families had been educated in putting
nutritional, frugal meals on their tables. In many ways, it was home economics
that would win the war.

Some contemporary quotes:

"This is a food war. Every extra row of vegetables
in allotments saves shipping the battle on the kitchen front cannot be
won without help from the kitchen garden.

Isn't an hour in the garden better than an hour in the queue?"
(Lord Woolton, Minister of Food, 1941)

"There used to be a joke about only donkeys eating carrots. Now it seems
we shall all be donkeys if we don't." Kitchen Front broadcast 7
January 1941

"The Kitchen Front" - During
the Second World War, millions of people listened to an early morning
five-minute BBC radio programme. With the assistance of domestic science teachers, dieticians, school-meal-organisers
and hospital caterers, the Public Relations Division of the Ministry of Food
gave the public lasting guidance about new food sources and creative recipes for
items which were not rationed. It also gave advice to people about the
healthiest way to feed themselves and to make the best use of their rations.

"From the Kitchen Front" was broadcast on BBC Radio Home Service (now radio
4) every morning for 5 minutes, and a few of these radio broadcast scripts
relating carrot items have been transcribed from the archives -

On 7 September 1940 the Kitchen Front offered this advice on cooking carrots:

“I have told you about the Aunt of mine who is the mother
of all culinary secrets – well she listened to my talk to you on the value of
simmering in which I mentioned carrots. She immediately said – you didn’t tell
them that there is only one way of cooking carrots. Cut them up, the older they
are the finer you cut them, and put them on to simmer in a pot with a little
margarine or good dripping., a little sugar and salt and no water at all.
Simmer them with the lid tight on for an hour and half. You should never really
ever cook them any other way!”

On
29 September 1941 the Kitchen Front gave more advice -
To make a jam filling, in cakes or sandwiches, go further
I am advising people to mix with the jam an equal quantity of carrots cooked
and mashed – or better still raw and grated. There’s plenty of sugar in
carrots. For a new flavour try adding a little cocoa sometimes.

On 5 September it was advice on Carrots Storage:

HOW TO STORE
CARROTS. The secret of storing carrots is in lifting them (pulling them
up) in good condition. Lift them during dry weather, not later than the
middle of October. Reject all blemished carrots and all damaged or forked
roots. It is not necessary to clean them, but be careful to see they are
quite dry. You will need a dry shed for your storing, if possible with a
stone or concrete floor, and some slightly moist sand.

If you cannot get
sand, earth, taken from the top of the ground, shaken through a very fine
sieve and slightly moistened, is the best substitute. Lay alternate rows of
carrots and sand (or earth), either on the ground, in a pyramid shape, or in
boxes. Cover your pyramid or box with sand (or earth). Put over it a layer
of straw as a safeguard against frost. The carrots should be stored crown to
tail in rows. Use the carrots as you require them, but take care that the
remaining pile is always well covered. It is a wise plan to rebuild your
pyramid at least once during the winter.

Image right is reproduced
courtesy of the excellent website "Join me in the 1900's'" -
here

Take a look at the short film "Easter on the Home front 1941" - where British
Pathé took it upon themselves to suggest war-time holiday alternatives to the
British public. check out the film on Youtube showing the famous carrot lollies
HERE

While much of the credit for the campaign went to Lord Woolton, the Minister
of Food from 1940 to 1943,
Professor John Raeburn ran it until the end of the war and
was responsible for its continuing success. At one point there was a glut of
carrots, and the Government let it be known that carotene, which can actually to
help night vision (if you are otherwise deficient in Vitamin A), was largely responsible for the RAF's increasing success in
shooting down enemy bombers.

The Ministry issued many cooking leaflets, often dedicated to specific topics
such as the magic of carrots. The language used was practical, and realistic for
the time -- in listing ingredients for suggested recipes, the government
leaflets would often say beside an ingredient such as butter: "if possible."

Cooking demonstrations by women such as Marguerite Patten were held in many
stores, including Harrods. Educational short movies on cooking were made for
showing at cinemas; BBC Radio ran a morning radio programme called "Kitchen
Front", broadcast from studios in Oxford Street, London.

They even came up with a recipe using carrot tops (the leaves) - Carrot Top
and Potato soup. See extract here.

Carrots were a relatively cheap foodstuff and not rationed. There was a free
market for carrots until the end of October 1941. After that time the
Government took over the sole purchase of "all sound marketable carrots fit for
human consumption, grown on holdings of one acre and above". The price was fixed,
nationwide, excluding the cost of bags. (source Ministry of Agriculture
archives, March, 1941 - National Archives UK).

In 1941 they cost an average of 2 (pre-decimal) pence a pound, retail. The selling prices
was however were strictly controlled by government orders. For example in 1942
the Ministry issued the "Emergency Powers Defence (Food) Carrots Order" which
dictated that retailers or any description had to display the maximum selling
price at all times - maximum price was then 3 1/2 pence per pound. (2 pence a
pound by 1943) The maximum price a grower could sell to a retailer was 9
shilling and 3 pence per hundredweight (plus delivery charge). - extract here:

Retailers were also required, by law, to maintain accurate records of where
they had purchased any carrots from the weight and at what price. There
were also strict controls over the weighing of carrots to ensure "no extraneous
matter" was included in the weight i.e. soil or green material. source:
Ministry of Food archives, 1941, National Archives UK)

"Carrots Help you See in the Dark" was a popular
saying at the time and people eagerly tucked in to carrots, believing this would
help them to see more clearly in the blackout. This suggestion not only helped reduce
the surplus vegetables but also helped, in a small way, to mask the chief reason for the RAF's
success in night time air battles - the increasing power of radar and the secret
introduction of an airborne version of the system.

It is true that carrots can
help keep your eyes healthy and if you are otherwise deficient in Vitamin A,
will help you see better in the dark by aiding optimum night vision and
defeating night blindness. So, if you don't get enough carotene or Vitamin A in
your diet, eventually you will suffer problems in your vision.

It is true that the RAF/Ministry of information
used the campaign to put the Germans off the scent of the discovery of air borne
radar and did some experiments with the effect of consumption carrots with high
carotene content.

The Ministry of Food promoted carrots heavily as a substitute for
other less readily available vegetables, fruit and other commodities. To improve
its image of blandness, people were encouraged to enjoy the healthy carrot in
different ways by promoting various recipes never tried before, such as curried
carrot and carrot jam. They even promoted the use of carrot tops (the leaves) in
a recipe called Champ (a meal for six for a shilling) and Carrot Top and Potato
Soup. (These can be found in the World War Two page here (see the
transcript on the carrot Tops page here) .

This secret reports on the Food Situation in 1941 clearly found
that the campaign was working (perhaps too well - see right) -

The Ministry of Food produced several informative cookery leaflets including
one specifically dedicated to carrots
(see official carrot cookery leaflet here) . People were encouraged to enjoy
the healthy carrot in different ways by the introduction of Dr Carrot in a
series of magazine articles and posters. A transcript of the actual broadcast
about Carrots is
here (pdf).

Every morning at 8.15 on the Home Service (UK radio 4) there was a Kitchen
Front broadcast giving useful tips
about using food in different ways, substitute
ingredients and recipes.

Carrot Competition - Carrots and potatoes featured regularly in the
broadcasts, so much so, that on 18 December 1941 they
announced a Carrot Competition where the public were to enter to show off their
ingenuity and submit ideas, not only for use as a vegetable but also in jelly,
cakes and confectionary. The concept was to give the Ministry of Food's
experimental kitchen some new ideas for inclusion in its leaflets, for free,
and to make people feel part of the effort.

The winner was a Mrs Casey from Palmers Green with "Carrot Savoury Pudding."
There was no prize - it was war time! but Mrs Casey did receive the standard BBC
Guest broadcast fee as a thank you. The winner was announced as the
headline for the Kitchen Front broadcast made on 24 January 1942 -

“Carrot Competition Winner Announced”. The
Ministry of Food, emerging from behind the mountain of entries they have
received for this competition, have just decided that the winning entry
came from Mrs Marjorie Casey, 131 Connaught Gardens, Palmers green. The
recipe is for “Carrot Savoury Pudding” and was endorsed by everyone
judging – and even endorsed by a dismal visitor who has previously stated:
“if you mention carrot to me again – I shall scream.”

Here is the simple recipe - make a suet pudding mixture, but before
moistening add 2lbs of chopped up carrots. Now cut in small pieces 2 sticks of
celery, half an onion or a leek, and half a turnip. And if you have any small
left-over pieces of cooked meat, put these in too. Then add a tablespoonful of
mixed herbs, and two tablespoons of chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Moisten in
the usual way and steam for 2 ½ hours. Then serve with a good brown gravy,
mashed potato and green vegetable.

Coincidentally this recipe (shown below) appeared in a subsequent
Ministry leaflet No 4 Carrots, and is believed to be it based on Mrs
Casey's winner.

The slogan "Carrots keep you healthy and help you see in the blackout"
was used extensively. Advert (below left) from the UK Times, 6 February,1942.

Some war time recipes promoted by the Ministry of Food are also
detailed below -
click here.

There was even a homemade drink called Carrolade, made up from the juices
of carrots and Swede (Rutabaga) grated and squeezed through a piece of
muslin, clearly no one thought of just plain carrot juice!. Modern recipe
here.

Other culinary uses included carrot jam, marmalade and toffee carrots.
The humble carrot, previously thought to be only good for animal feed had
been elevated to a new high and set in motion started its rightful return
to one of the countries favourite vegetables. Read more about jam
here

Also during the war many thousands of tons of carrots were dehydrated
and shipped overseas in sealed metal containers in an atmosphere of carbon
dioxide or nitrogen to prevent loss of carotene.

The Ministry of Food campaign to encourage people to eat more
vegetables resulted in the promotion of Woolton Pie,
composed entirely of vegetables. Potato, Carrot and Swede (rutabaga)
provided the basic ingredients, with onion and cauliflower added when
available. Lord Woolton was the Minister of Food from
April 1940.

The recipe was the creation of Francis Latry, the chef of the Savoy hotel, and named
after Lord Woolton. Many people had their own interpretation of this
recipe, but they always used carrots! Basically it is mixed vegetables, a
sauce and a topping , which could be pastry or potatoes mashed or sliced.
Potato Pete's recipe book,
on line here.

The Official Woolton Pie Recipe as
reported in The Times 26 April 1941:

INGREDIENTS

Take 1Ib each of diced potatoes, cauliflower, swedes
(rutabaga) and carrots;
Three or Four spring onions;
One teaspoonful of vegetable extract and
One teaspoonful of oatmeal.

METHOD

Cook all together for ten minutes with just enough water to cover.
Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Allow to cool; put into a pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and cover with
a crust of potatoes or wholemeal pastry.
Bake in a moderate oven until the pastry is nicely brown and serve hot with
brown gravy.

There were of course many variations on this basic recipe,
depending on which ingredients were available and accounting
for personal taste.

The Main Vegetables which The Kitchen Front promoted were given
extra status (image right)

The Kitchen Front Broadcast in 1941 by the Ministry
of Food gave this, more detailed version:
(transcribed by the World Carrot Museum from the original script of the actual broadcast
- (source National Archives UK))

Peel potatoes and carrots and cut into slices the size of a large penny.
wash them well and dry on a dish cloth. Fry them separately in a small
amount of chicken fat. Do the same with the mushrooms, adding the sliced
onions and leek. Mix them all together, season with salt and pepper,
nutmeg and coarsely chopped parsley.

Fill the pie dish with the mixture, placing the
bouquet garni in the middle. Moisten with a little giblet stock or water.
Let it cool before covering with pastry made with half beef suet or
chicken fat and half margarine.

"Why moan about tobacco rationing. Cigarettes which
cost him Id. for 20 comes from the carrot and other leaves that Dr. &. A.
Harrison, chemical pathologist to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, gathers in a
garden. Carrot leaves make excellent cigarettes and he has smoked many a
pipe of them too, says Dr Harrison."

"Doctor Carrot"arrived in November 1941. The Ministry of Agriculture
promoted carrots heavily as a substitute for other more scarce
vegetables and meat, and
as a sweetener in desserts in the absence of sugar, which was rationed
to 8 ounces per adult per week. The Dr. Carrot character carried a bag
labelled "Vit A" as the Ministry of Food recognised the value of the
carrot in providing high levels of this vital vitamin, via
beta-carotene. People were encouraged to "take the doctor's advice" and
eat more carrots to be fit for the ensuing winter. It was reported that
the shortage of batteries would no longer be a concern as people would
"develop cats eyes" and see better in the dark. Carrot were considered
to be the most important of vegetables from a health point of view and
it was hoped that Dr Carrot would carry out his mission as successfully
as Potato Pete did for the potato. (source: Ministry of Food archives,
1941, National Archives UK)

In February 1941 the Minister of Food gave his monthly
report on the food situation in the UK and stated "That the consumption
of carrots has increased following the Ministry's publicity campaigns.
Supplies are still ample."
(source: National Archives, Cabinet papers)

In wartime Britain children would very often use the humble carrot as a
substitute for the fruit they could no longer obtain. Similarly the Government
also issued a poster with the slogan 'Carrots keep you healthy and help you see
in the blackout' to promote the humble carrot.

Doctor Carrot

was EVERYWHERE!

Potato Pete had been previously introduced to encourage potato substitution for other
commodities. The Ministry of Food were so impressed with the success of Potato
Pete that Dr Carrot soon followed. No one knows who actually invented Dr Carrot
or who drew the cartoon. Nonetheless he was a tremendous success.

Sweets (candy) were scarce so children had to make do with whatever their
inventive mums came up with. As ever the Ministry of Food came to their aid.
This wartime recipe
for carrot fudge (below) sounds really weird. Why not print it out and give it a
try? You'll need a bit of grown-up help with the cooking. See if your friends
can guess what it's made of and let us know how it tastes. More ingenious uses
for the surplus of carrots
below.

World War Two Archive Photos (UK)

Carrots Lollies

Carrot Sign

Cropping carrots in a Dig for Victory
Garden

Adults enjoy lollies
too!

An old hand shows the kids how to plant carrots (1941).

The carrot creativity even hit the New Zealand press in 1941

A Surplus of Carrots!
- (Source: National Archives records, inspected September 2011
& September 2013))

The Ministry of Food encouraged so much extra production that, by January
1942, it was looking for a market for the 100,000 tons of carrots that were surplus
to consumers' requirements even at a time when green vegetables were not too
plentiful and were expensive in the shops. Such was the success of the domestic
agriculture reorganisation, that the crop was 3 times bigger than any in living
memory! There was no regulation of the type of carrots to grow and
most stayed with a reliable favourite - Nantes type whilst others preferred
James Intermediate, depending on soil conditions.

The surplus tonnage, which was "no
more than a provident margin in wartime" was offered to farmers for stock feeding
at less than half the price guaranteed to the growers. Famously, the Government
responded to a temporary wartime oversupply of carrots by suggesting that the
RAF's exceptional night-flying was due to eating carotene. The ruse worked
(and was in certain circumstances true!):
consumption of carrots increased sharply because people thought carrots might
help them see in the blackout, thus taking the pressure off other food supplies.
read more
about night vision
here.

In an attempt to prevent malpractice the carrots sold for stock feeding were
sprayed with a violet dye, before delivery (in the same way as the surplus
potatoes sold for stock feeding at the end of 1940). Carrots made good food for
dairy cows, horses. fattening bullocks, and pigs, and if there were more carrots
in the country than human consumers could take, it was right that they should be
used for stock-feeding.

The Daily Mirror in January 1942 ran with this piece -

This dye was harmless to animals, and therefore probably ok for humans, and
no doubt many found their way into the food chain via the black market economy,
which was rife at the time.

So in a bizarre way purple carrots were around in the 40's !

Companies were coming forward all the time with creative ideas to help out
the Ministry of Food. Here is an extract from correspondence from the Delma
Canning Company in 1943:

The Ministry archive papers also pointed out that the above processes could
utilise sub-standard carrots previously "wasted" in their use as animal fodder.
The "treacle" referred to was apparently well liked by children as it was so
sweet. It was estimated that one ton of carrots produced 1
hundredweight of treacle and that the company promoting its production claimed
that it "was a better use than mere cattle fodder".

There was considerable debate in the Ministry of Food about the
true motives of the company promoting the production of treacle as this extract
from a Ministry Committee from December 1943 shows

The
firm claimed to be able to extract 150 grammes (about 6 ozs.) of Vitamin
A from every ton of carrots, this being about fifteen times the highest
quantity which people with the best scientific equipment have been able
to obtain. I should, therefore, require considerable evidence before was
prepared to accept this claim at its race value. So far from being given
any evidence, the staff were particularly secretive and refused to give
any information at all.

I
gather that this firm has processed surplus carrots in the past and
obtained carrot treacle, which has been sold as artificial honey
probably at a high price, and also pectin, probably sold to jam
manufacturers. You will see that the firm has, therefore, done
considerable business in products to be obtained from carrots. Since the
suggested vitamin process would only take 6 ozs. out of each ton of
carrots, one naturally wonders what is to become of the remaining 19
cwts. 111 lbs. 10 ozs.

The answer is obvious - that it will be used to
manufacture carrot treacle and pectin, which will be sold by this firm
as it has been before. I am very suspicious of the firm's claim to be
able to manufacture Vitamin A, and even if their claim were
substantiated I would still regard vitamin manufacture as a by-product
rather than the main object of the Company. My feeling was that this
was being used as an excuse to obtain carrots for treacle and pectin
manufacture which, without this excuse, they would be unable to
obtain. Finally, even if their claims were genuine, there is no reason
why they should not employ broken carrots, as these would be quite
suitable for their purpose except that they would require more trouble
in washing and additional labour in trimming. I would strongly
resist this demand for sound carrot unless the supply is particularly
abundant." source National Archives

It was reported to the Ministry of Food in 1941 that "There had
been a marked improvement in the general character of the diet. There will be a
natural tendency for people to eat fewer carrots unless the publicity campaign
is carried out with considerable effort. Fortunately a strong appeal can be made
to the public to eat carrots as a healthful food."

The Ministry also explored the possibility of manufacturing
carrot powder and a carrot spread, similar to margarine, as ways of effectively
using the surplus.
Breakfast Food and Powder - it was claimed by the
manufacturer, Sun-o-Like Co Ltd, that one pound of
the product contained the equivalent of one pound of carrots and the corresponding
carotene content. After exploring many options the conclusion
was that any surplus remaining after increased public consumption would be
passed over to the Ministry of Agriculture as raw roots for the feeding of
livestock.

People were encouraged to use Carrot tops (the leaves) too! - Carrot tops had other uses:
They even promoted the use of carrot tops (the leaves) in a recipe called Champ
(a meal for six for a shilling) and Carrot Top and Potato Soup. (These can
be found in the World War Two page here (see the
transcript on the carrot Tops page here) .They were also fed to
the rabbits that many people kept in their back gardens for free and off-ration
meat.

Here are some more contemporary ingenious uses for the surplus of carrots:

Concentrated juice as "honey"; drying carrots for cattle
feed in future years and the preparation of pectin.

A further suggestion was that carrots could used to
manufacture vitamin preparations for post-war relief. The Red Cross
had proposed Vitaminised chocolate, and by margarine producers who
would otherwise be using a Vitamin A concentrate.

In 1943, the Ministry of Food discussed the options for using carotene
obtained from carrots in "Vitaminised chocolate", which would help with the
surplus of carrots prevailing at that time. (correspondence
extract late1943)

Having
re-examined the statistics the Committee considered that

“There
would be no supplies of carrots available for the purposes proposed as
the 1943 yield was much lower than in recent years, and the supply of
carrots would fall short of normal human consumption, adding that the
acreage was about 21,000 compared to the estimated requirement of
33,000 acres for 1944."

An early suggestion for the manufacture of carrot juice was also a suggestion
which was not pursued. The Ministry's official response was that "Carrot
juice is of relatively low vitamin value (!) and when concentrated to a
syrup has no greater food value than that of the sugar it contains".
Subsequently the question of juice was back on the agenda, following information
on what the US was doing in that area (November 1941):

Carrot Treacle was also an option to reduce the surplus
(January 1942):

The Committee finally deliberated:

The Carrot Flan - quite an
innovation at the time. This is one of a series of meals developed by the
Ministry of Food to encourage people to make the best use of available
home-grown produce.
Recipe here.

A product called "Pommace"
was also examined, not
only to use up carrots but also to make best use of cider making
machinery! (January 1942)

Pommace is a by product of cider production. In the Middle Ages,
pommace wine with a low alcohol content of three or four percent was widely
available. This faux wine was made by adding water to pommace and then
fermenting it. Generally, medieval wines were not fermented to dryness;
consequently the pommace would retain some residual sugar after fermenting.

I do not think the government realised they were contemplating an
alcoholic drink!

The Ministry of Food was always trying to jazz up the image of carrot (see
above advert, church Times, January 1942), and full of useful advice like
this: - "Don’t pare, cut or chop vegetables until just
before using them. Make salads, and add dressing, immediately prior to eating
to protect them from the air. Never soak vegetables – water is an enemy of
many vitamins.

Valuable nutrients are near the skin. Cut carrots lengthwise. their cells
are long and less of the nutrient qualities will escape in the cooking water."

This advert (below) appeared in the Daily Mirror on 27 February 1941:

Toffee Carrots Now!

“Toffee carrots please” children of Shepherd’s bush,
London call out in the sweetshop of Mr Harold Carter, Sweeter than apples –
and cheaper – toffee carrots are taking tie place of the absent sweets.

Behind his shop Mr Carter spends his time dipping home
grown carrots in a saucepan of toffee. He is usually sold out before the
toffee has hardened on them.

“There are very few sweets these days” he told the Daily
Mirror “and they are pretty dear to buy with pennies. But carrots are cheap,
and Lord Woolton urges us to eat them, so I decided to make sweets out of
‘Woolton’s wonders’ “

On short sticks, Mr Carter’s toffee carrots sell at
halfpenny or penny according to size.

Disney Carrot Characters

In late 1941, Walt Disney offered to help the British Government promote
carrots as a nutritious food source. England had already
been at war with the Germans for two years and severe rationing measures were in
effect. The January 11, 1942 issue of The New York Times Magazine announced:
"England has a goodly store of carrots. But carrots are not the staple items of
the average English diet. The problem...is to sell the carrots to the English
public."

Hank Porter, a leading Disney cartoonist designed a family of carrot
characters on behalf of England's Food Minister (Lord Woolton).

The Disney Corporation created a carrot family including Carroty George,
Clara Carrot, and Dr. Carrot, for the British media to promote the eating of
carrots. The vegetable characters were reproduced on a poster, recipe booklet,
flyers and the images were used extensively in a newspaper campaign. Carroty
George's motto was "I'll tell you what to do with me"! (Photo right - Walt Disney Studios help with the ministry's
wartime food campaigns, 14th November 1941 - Photo by M. McNeill/Fox Photos/Hulton
Archive/Getty Images)

As the British Ministry of Food had already used their own
Dr Carrot character in their promotions, this particular Disney character was
never used, and appears to have been "converted" into Pop Carrot.

The following images are reproduced from the originals.
They are VERY rare!. Please do not copy
them.

The cartoons shown below appeared in "The Times" in 1941/2. The associated
flyers which were distributed to the public featuring six carrot-based recipes
and also had illustrations of Carroty George, Clara Carrot and Pop Carrot. They
also featured other frugal recipes.

The full list of recipes as they appeared in the press is
shown here
together with more information and rare photos about the Disney characters.

These copies are taken from "The Times" archives. The
original leaflets (as reproduced above) are VERY rare!.

This is how the New York times reported it on 11 January 1942:

An article also appeared in the March 1942 "Boy's Life" Magazine (UK). This
read:

England has wakened to the fact that 'a carrot a
day keeps the blackout at bay', according to Lord Woolton, the Food
Minister, English people, however, are not great carrot eaters, so Lord
Woolton had to educate his country, where upon he cabled Walt Disney in
Hollywood, and asked if Disney would create a set of carrot cartoons for
him. Within a few hours he received a reply: Have immediately created
Carrot Family, Dr. Carrot, George, and Clara. The British Press Service
wire-photoed the drawings via RCA, and now the Carrot Family is all over
the British Isles.

If you get a call this spring from Governor
McNutt, to plant and raise a big crop of carrot or sweet potatoes. don't
be surprised, 'Be Prepared', for America is going in for Vitamin A in a
very big way.

(Note that the original press article
shows Dr Carrot - this was ultimately changed to Pops Carrots as England
already had its own Dr Carrot character)

From Time Magazine (USA) 29 December
1941 -

"Three new characters made of carrots
(Dr. Carrot, Carroty George, Clara Carrot) have been photo-wired to London, they
are advising the British that if they want to see better during blackouts, they
had better munch carrots."

In fact there were four characters, Pop
Carrot was not mentioned. As the British Ministry of Food had already used
their own Dr Carrot in their promotions, this Disney character was never used,
and is lost for posterity. Perhaps Pop Carrot came later as a replacement for Dr
Carrot?

Any one with further information about the Disney
Carrot Characters or the whereabouts of the posters or leaflets please contact the Museum.

(The World Carrot Museum respectfully acknowledges the
outstanding work undertaken by David Lesjak at the Toons at War Blog which has
assisted in the research of some of the above information about the Disney
Characters. It also provides an excellent resource about the role Toons played
in Wartime)

The full list of recipes contained in the Disney leaflets is
shown here
together with more information about the Disney characters.

Here is one of Carroty George's recipes, as part of a series of carrot based
recipes designed to encourage healthy eating during rationing.

You can meet young Carroty George any day at the 'Hot Pot' if you're a
member. He belongs of course, to all the best clubs, and what's more he
has the entrée of all the best kitchens. That's because a fellow of tact
and resource and can so quickly adapt himself to any occasion, sweet or
savoury. See how well he fits into:

Carrot Hot Pot

Wash and coarsely grate 6 carrots and 6 potatoes; mix with 2 tablespoons
packet sage and onion. Make seasoning of 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon
pepper, and, if possible, brown sugar. Put half the vegetables in a stewpot, cover with half the seasoning, add rest of vegetables and rest of
seasoning. No water required, cover stewpot and bake very slowly for 2
hours. You'll have a dish very much out of the ordinary, for 3 or 4.

You will need:
4 tablespoons of finely grated carrot
1 gelatine leaf
orange essence or orange squash
a saucepan and a flat dish

Put the carrots in a pan and cook them gently in just enough water to keep them
covered, for ten minutes. Add a little orange essence, or orange squash to
flavour the carrot. Melt a leaf of gelatine and add it to the mixture. Cook the
mixture again for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Spoon it into a flat
dish and leave it to set in a cool place for several hours. When the "fudge"
feels firm, cut it into chunks and get eating!

2. Use a large heavy pan – Dissolve the sugar and syrup in the milk and
add the grated carrots and any flavouring.

3. Boil vigorously, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar
thermometer shows the temperature to be 240°F or 115°C. Or if you don’t
have such a thing, once it starts to “bond” together, change colour and
start to smell like toffee

4. Take care not to splash the mixture which is very hot. But a sticky
cooker is inevitable.

5. Take off the heat.

6. Stir in the butter a little at a time.

7. Then pour the mixture into a greased 20cm square tin to cool.

8. Cut into small squares when cold and store in an airtight tin. Or
roll into balls and drop in icing sugar

Let us hope that the country never faces such extremes again. However, it is now
realised that the home population never ate so well as during and after the war.
This was thanks to the strict rationing of shop-bought goods and the amount of
fresh vegetables that people ate.

There is a simple message for the 21st Century's increasingly
obese and under-exercised populations. Take up carrot growing and give up the
car while you're at it!

Dig For Victory

The Ministry of Food launched its 'Dig for Victory' campaign in October 1939,
one month after war broke out. The campaign was led by an agricultural
economist, Professor John Raeburn, who was recruited to the Ministry of Food in
1939, and who would run the campaign until the end of the war.

The campaign encouraged people to transform their front and back gardens into
vegetable plots. The goal was to replace imported food, thus freeing up shipping
space for more valuable war materials, and to make up for food that was sunk in
transit. By the end of 1940, 728,000 tons of food making its way to Britain had
been lost, sunk by German submarine activity.

The government realised that the population would go hungry if the war was to
last longer than a few months. The result was that formal gardens, lawns and
even sports pitches were transformed into allotments, large and small, and
everybody on the home front was encouraged to become a vegetable gardener.

Whilst the term "Victory Garden" has become synonymous with
World War Two, its origin can be traced back to the 1600?s in England where
Richard Gardner in his book entitled Victory Gardens wrote:

"If any citie or towne should
be besieged with the enemy what better provision for the greatest number of
people can be than every garden be sufficiently planted with carrots?

Prior to World War II, Britain imported over 55 million tons of food a year -
much of it from Canada and the USA. After the outbreak of war, merchant vessels
carrying provisions into Britain, especially those coming across the Atlantic,
became targets of the German navy and food imports were under threat. At the
same time the British government recognised that the merchant ships were
required for the transport of troops, munitions and even aeroplanes to the
theatres of war.

In October 1939 Rob Hudson, Minister for Agriculture, announced "We want not
only the big man with the plough but the little man with the spade to get busy
this autumn... Let 'Dig for Victory' be the motto of everyone with a garden". It
was a desperate request because farmers could only produce 30% of the country's
food. But if gardens could be turned over to growing food rather than flowers,
up to 25% of the necessary vegetables could be provided.

The whole of Britain's home front was encouraged to transform private gardens
into mini-allotments. Not only this, but parks, formal public gardens and
various areas of unused land were dug up for planting fruit and vegetables.
Kensington Gardens dug up its flowers and planted rows of cabbages and carrots.
All over the country, lawns were dug and potatoes, cabbages, carrots and beans
planted. Windsor Great Park was given over to wheat, and public parks, road
verges, railway embankments, golf clubs, tennis courts, roofs and even window
boxes were put to work.

The Ministry of Agriculture got in on the act producing several informative
leaflets on how to grow more. Leaflet number one "Grow for Winter as well as
Summer" which showed how to get fresh, home grown vegetables throughout the
year. Copies can be seen here.
Front page
and inside
page. The plan worked and by 1945, around 75% of food was produced in
Britain.

A song was introduced to promote the Dig for Victory slogan.

Dig! Dig! Dig! And your muscles will grow big
Keep on pushing the spade
Don't mind the worms
Just ignore their squirms
And when your back aches laugh with glee
And keep on diggin?
Till we give our foes a Wiggin?
Dig! Dig! Dig! to Victory"

Dig for Victory was very successful. From a total of 815,000 allotments in 1939
the number rose to 1,400,000 by 1943.

It was reported in the UK Times on 15 May 1941 that "Evidence of American
determination to help Britain in every possible way is provided by the offer of
vegetable seeds". These were accepted by Mr. R. S. Hudson, Minister of
Agriculture. The first instalment of nine tons arrived through the agency of the
British War Relief Society. Among the vegetables which have been specially
asked for are onions, carrots, beans. cauliflower,
broccoli, leeks, parsnips, and tomatoes.

Very soon allotment holders, members of the Army and Royal Air Force, and
others were sowing American seeds on their plots.

In the USA - Victory Gardens

The
programme was mirrored in the USA with the formation of Victory Gardens. Left
the Official US leaflet issued February 1942.

Victory gardens were vegetable gardens planted to ensure an adequate food
supply for civilians and troops. Government agencies, private foundations,
businesses, schools, and seed companies all worked together to provide land,
instruction, and seeds for individuals and communities to grow food.
From California to Florida, Americans ploughed backyards, vacant lots, parks,
baseball fields, and schoolyards to set out gardens. Children and adults
fertilized, planted, weeded, and watered in order to harvest an abundance of
vegetables. (read
more at the Smithsonian website here)

At the beginning of World War II, Secretary of Agriculture Wickard suggested
that, since the farmers of America would be busy feeding the army, civilians
should plant Victory Gardens to provide fresh vegetables for their own tables.
Americans were quick to respond. By 1943, victory gardens were flourishing in
many backyards, empty lots, parks, baseball fields, schoolyards - even parking
lots, since not many cars were being driven due to the shortage of gasoline.
These gardens came in every size and shape. Governments and corporations
promoted the victory garden effort as a call for self-reliance.

People in both rural and urban areas tilled the soil to raise food for their
families, friends and neighbours. Households used what they needed and preserved
and canned for future use. Eventually more than 40 percent of the country's
vegetables were grown in the nation's backyards. Victory gardening enabled more
processed foods to be shipped to our troops around the world. Emphasis was
placed on making gardening a family or community effort - not drudgery, but a
pastime, and a national duty.

By 1944, 20 million Americans planted Victory Gardens, producing one million
tons a year of vegetables -- about half the amount consumed in America. Of
course carrots figured highly in the campaigns, as evidenced by the various
propaganda posters.
Click here to see more posters.

Brightly coloured posters produced for the government by artists from the
Work Progress Administration (WPA) encouraged Americans to "Fight with Food."
Vegetables grown in home gardens, the government reasoned, would not only
lighten the burden of food rationing, but would free up supplies needed for
troops fighting in Europe. The appealing combination of self-sufficiency and
patriotism made the Victory Garden effort arguably the most successful civilian
wartime program.

A
Ministry of Agriculture food production poster using the slogan 'Dig for
Plenty'. Illustrated with a colourful box of winter vegetables, it is aimed at
the amateur gardener, rather than industrial agriculturalists. ?Dig for Victory'
was a campaign that ran throughout much of the war. The famous "foot on the
spade" illustration, (above right) took on a life of its own early in the war.

Pictured right, "Dig for Plenty" by Le Bon, 1944, Gouache on board. A
Ministry of Agriculture food production poster using the slogan "Dig for
Plenty'. Illustrated with a colourful box of winter vegetables, it is aimed at
the amateur gardener, rather than industrial agriculturalists. ?Dig for Victory'
was a campaign that ran throughout much of the war. The famous ?foot on the
spade' illustration, visible in the bottom left-hand corner, took on a life of
its own early in the war. The benefits of growing one's own food were stressed.
Such over-heightened colour visions of abundant vegetables, rarely fruit or
salad, but good nutritious food in a time of shortages, would have appealed to
the public.

"Dig for Plenty" indicates a recognition that victory was already
assured and now a healthier future was possible. Previous campaigns had seen
many gardens turned into allotments. Those who dug up half their lawn for
vegetables had done it partly in response to the government campaign and partly
because they feared rises in food prices. It was also a leisure interest. In
1944, the campaign no longer called for extra allotments and was directed almost
entirely to greater efficiency in vegetable production.

The most common carrot varieties used by US citizens were Amsterdam Minicor
and Autumn King.

Also an extract of carrots was used in America to colour Oleos (margarine)
during the fats rationing that took place during the second world war. (They
were really reviving an early American folk custom in colouring foods.)

CONTEMPORARY RECIPES

Recipes which included carrots, "invented" during war time

Recipes either created by ordinary housewives using their ingenuity, or taken
from the "official" recipes promoted by the Ministry of Food. Every morning
there was a radio broadcast giving hints and tips on food use, also including
some interesting recipes. Samples of every type are shown below.

Ministry of Food Leaflet Number 3 (extract)

Carrots - Yorkshire PuddingDaily
Mirror 11 December 1941

Nowadays, when you have to economise with your Yorkshire
pudding, you will find this method an improvement. Make your batter with half milk,
half water, or a little tinned evaporated milk added to the water. Add one large
raw grated carrot to the baiter before you bake it.

Carrots were one vegetable in plentiful
supply and as a result widely utilised as a substitute for the scarce
commodities. To improve its blandness, people were encouraged to 'enjoy' the
healthy carrot in different ways by the introduction of such characters as 'Doctor
Carrot'. Culinary delights in the form of curried carrot, carrot jam and a
homemade drink called Carrolade were suggested by the Ministry of Food.
(See the official
leaflet here)

The homemade drink called Carrolade was made up from the juices of carrots
and Swede grated and squeezed through a piece of muslin, clearly no one thought
of just plain carrot juice!.

Other culinary uses included carrot marmalade and toffee carrots. The humble
carrot, previously thought to be only good for animal feed had been elevated to
a new high and kick started its rightful return to one of the nations favourite
vegetables.

Also during the war many thousands of tons of carrots were dehydrated and
shipped overseas in sealed metal containers in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide
or nitrogen to prevent loss of carotene.

Carrots for Breakfast

(suggested by a radio listener)

Slice up two carrots and cook the rounds with bacon. The bacon fat makes them
tender in no time.

Method: Put the carrots in a pan and cook them gently in just enough water to
keep them covered, for ten minutes. Add a little orange essence, or orange
squash to flavour the carrot. Melt a leaf of gelatine and add it to the mixture.
Cook the mixture again for a few minutes, stirring all the time. Spoon it into a
flat dish and leave it to set in a cool place for several hours. When the
"fudge" feels firm, cut it into chunks and get eating!

Carotmel Custard(Daily Mirror, January 1941) - Into dry saucepan put 1 heaped dessert
spoon of sugar, stir over flame until it becomes dark brown. But be careful not
to burn it, take quickly from flame as soon as it has the required colour. Add
at once I gill of water, 4 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1lb of grated or minced
carrots.

Soak the carrots in cold water, scrub them with a hard brush, then grate or
mince them. Cook gently until the carrots are done. Then add 1 gill of milk, 1
heaped teaspoon dry breadcrumbs and 3 teaspoons of cornflour (or better, vanilla
custard powder) which you have dissolved in a little cold water or milk.

Cook gently for a few minutes. Pour into a wetted mould. Turn out when
cooled.- If you wish, serve with a little cold milk.

Prepare curry sauce as follows;
Melt fat in saucepan, add chopped onion and fry for a few minutes.

Add curry powder and flour and fry, stirring from time to time, for a
few minutes longer. Stir in stock or water, and when boiling, season to
taste. Simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
Add cooked carrots to curry sauce in saucepan and cook for about 20-30
minutes. Serve with a garnish of cooked rice.

Mock Apricot Tarts

You will need:
1 lb young carrots, a few drops almond essence, 4 round tablespoons plum
jam, about 6 tablespoons cold water, 1 lb short crust or potato pastry, 2
teaspoons jam more if it can be spared.

While cases are cooking, peel, wash and dry the carrots, grate into
saucepan, add jam, essence and water and cook slowly until a pulp forms.
Stir regularly and check it's not drying up, spread over the pastry case
and top with a little more jam if available. Could be served with mock
cream. (see below)

Carrot Marmalade

From the
“Kitchen Front” broadcast 8 January 1942 by Freddie Grisewood

Put the carrots
in a preserving pan with just enough boiling water to prevent the pan from
burning. Cook the carrots until they are tender, adding a little more water if
necessary. Now you add the sugar. As soon as it is melted, bring back to the
boil and cook until your marmalade has reached the consistency of a chutney.
This should take about 45 minutes.

Here's something else to remember. Supposing you can't get lemon
substitute, you can still make carrot marmalade. Your substitute for lemon
substitute is a portion of quassia chips** tied in a piece of muslin. . A heaped
teaspoonful of quassia chips in a piece of muslin, more if you like the
marmalade very bitter. This should simmer with the carrots - and if you're using
it don't forget to add an extra teacupful of water to the pan. And you remove
the muslin bag before you add the sugar.

I didn’t invent the Carrot Marmalade recipe myself, it was handed to me by
the Food Advice people when I asked what I could use as breakfast spread when I
had overdrawn my preserve ration.

It would be my entry for the competition if I had have invented it.

It's not
intended for storing, so remember not to make more than a week or two's supply
at a time.

(There was no
mention of the quantity this produce, at a guess probably about 3 pounds (six
jars)

** Quassia
wood chips.- This multi-purpose wood has been used for many hundreds of years to
treat a wide variety of ailments, both inside and outside the body. These
include stomach problems, intestinal parasites, head lice, hair tonics and many
more. It is a very bitter-tasting plant. Used as a substitute for Hops in beer
making. Also used in aperitifs and in tonic wines. It contains pectin which
would help the marmalade to set.
another
different recipe here)

Mock Cream

A wartime substitute for cream. All dairy products were
rationed in the war and this substitute cream gave people a little bit of luxury
during the hard times.

Mix the cornflour with a little of the milk to form a smooth paste. Bring
the rest of the milk to the boil. Pour the hot milk over the cornflour paste.
Return to the heat and bring to the boil. Cook for 3 minutes. Cream the sugar
and margarine together. Gradually whisk in the cornflour mixture. Add the
vanilla essence. Allow to cool.

Wash and pare potatoes. Cook in boiling salted water until they are soft.
Rub through colander. Use water in which potatoes were cooked to make up the two
cups of water for the soup. Cook carrots, cut in cubes in boiling water until
soft; drain. Scald milk with onion, celery, and parsley. Add milk and water to
potatoes. Melt fat in sauce pan, add flour, and cook for three minutes. Slowly
add soup, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute, season with salt and pepper.
Add cubes of carrots and serve.

Method - Grease 2
baking trays. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Rub in the margarine or cooking
fat. Add the sugar, carrot, sultanas and egg. Mix well, then add sufficient
milk or water to make a sticky consistency. Divide mixture into 12 small heaps
on baking tray and bake in a hot oven (gas mark7) for 12 to 15 minutes until
firm and golden.

Method - Cream the fat and the sugar together with the vanilla essence. Beat in
the grated carrot. Fold in the flour. If mixture very dry then add a little
water. Drop spoonfuls onto greased tray and press down just a little. Sprinkle
tops with sugar and cook in an oven at 200 centigrade for about 20 minutes.

Method - Rinse the carrots, then place them in a saucepan of boiling salted
water to cover. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook slowly till soft. Rub through
a sieve. Measure and place puree in a basin. Add half as much breadcrumbs as
carrot puree, then add onion and the margarine, melted till creamy. Season to
taste, then add enough beaten egg to bind the mixture. Place in a greased
pudding basin.

Cover with greased paper. Steam for 45 minutes. Turn out onto a hot dish. Serve
with cheese or caper sauce or left over gravy.

Carrot Yorkshire PuddingDaily Mirror
December 1941

Nowadays, when you have to economise with your Yorkshire pudding, you will
find this method an improvement. Make your batter with half milk, half water, or
a little tinned evaporated milk added to the water. Add one large raw grated
carrot to the batter before you bake it.

Carrot Tart (Kitchen
front broadcast recipe, 1941)

Carrot Croquets

With sugar being rationed, the Ministry for Food encouraged the use of
carrots as sweeteners. For a slightly sweeter take on the traditional potato
croquet, try this carrot alternative.

Method: Mix the finely grated vegetables and cheese. Season, add the oatmeal
to form a fairly stiff mixture. Form into croquettes and fry in hot fat.

Chocolate and carrot pudding

The name might put you off, but is it really any stranger than carrot cake?
Of course not, and the success of sweet carrot recipes in the war shows why.
Carrots were used in everything from jam sponges to marmalade.

Method: Cream the margarine and sugar together and stir in the grated carrot,
syrup, fruit and the rest of the dry ingredients. Add milk to mix to a fairly
stiff consistency. Put into a greased basin and steam for 2 hours.

Carrot Sandwich Fillings

Add two parts of grated raw carrot to one part of finely shredded white
heart cabbage and bind with chutney or sweet pickle. Pepper and salt to taste.

Bind some grated raw carrot with mustard sauce flavoured with a dash of vinegar.

I

ngenious Suggestions -

(Daily Mirror December 1941)

Carrots provide an excellent change in the taste of dishes
which you used to make with tomato or its sauce.

(a) You can cook diced carrots with rice, adding salt and
pepper, a little dripping and bottled sauce.

(b) Cook and mash carrots with fork, season with salt.
pepper and vegetable extract, add a little tinned evaporated milk and serve with
macaroni.

(c) Parboil sliced carrots preferably with a little chopped
onion and cover any cooked, baked or steamed fish with this mixture. Best
method a a little margarine or lard and chopped onion, if possible, to cooked
sliced carrots in a saucepan. Add filleted fish sprinkled with salt and pepper
to the boiling carrots and simmer in this way for 8-10 minutes.

(d) Parboil some carrots (or leftovers). Chop a little
American tinned meat (spam) any kind, and heat in a frying pan. Add the carrots
and serve on toast for breakfast.

Ambrose heath - "War Time Recipes" - 1941
- Heath was one of the contributors to the ?Kitchen Front? talks broadcast
by the BBC during the Second World War. The talks were organized by the
Ministry of Food to encourage frugality and palliate the hardship of
rationing with recipes, household hints, exhortations from government
officials and comedy. The ?Kitchen Front? was a platform for propaganda,
but of a homely and avuncular cast.

Some of the books available, which reproduce war time recipes and general
information on rationing and life in WW2:-

Rationing in World War 2 increased the
intelligence of Britons - 2014 Study

Digging for victory in World War 2 improved the health and brain power of
Britons, the University of Aberdeen found.

A study by the University of Aberdeen and NHS Grampian has found that
children who grew up during the Second World War became far more intelligent
than those who were born just 15 years before.

Researchers think that cutting rich, sugary and fatty foods out of the diets
of growing children had a hugely beneficial impact on their growing brains.

Consequently, children born in 1936 grew up to have IQ scores on average 16.5
points ahead of those born in 1921 - read more here:
BBC report

In today's
global culture of cheap, abundant and ready-prepared food, it is hard to imagine
a situation when the whole nation faced such severe food shortages, when even
the least experienced people ended up keeping pigs, or digging up their lawns
for carrots, potatoes and cabbages, in order to survive.

During the war, although there were privations and
shortages, people generally had a good, healthy diet as people were forced to
adopt new eating habits. After the war it was found that the average food intake
was much higher than when it began. This was mostly because many poor people had
been too poor to feed themselves properly, but with virtually no unemployment
and the introduction of rationing, with its fixed prices, they ate better than
in the past. People who had previously consumed a poor diet
were able to increase their intake of protein and vitamins because they received
the same ration as everyone else. People at all levels of society ate
better, took nutrition more seriously and fed their

families sensibly with the
rations and whatever vegetables and fruit that were available, and with less
sugar and fewer sweet snacks there was less tooth decay. As a whole the
population was slimmer and healthier than it is today. People ate less fat,
eggs, sugar and meat whilst eating many more vegetables.

Many people ate a better diet during
rationing than before
the war years and this had a marked effect on the health of the population -
infant mortality declined and life expectancy increased.

Let us hope
that the country never faces such extremes again. However, it is now realised
that the home population never ate so well as they did during and after the war.
This was thanks to the strict rationing of shop-bought goods
and the amount of fresh vegetables that people ate.

There is a
simple message for the 21st Century's increasingly obese and under-exercised
population. Take up vegetable gardening, grow carrots and take more walks!

The majority of the information in this page has been drawn
from the archives material in the Imperial War Museum (UK), The UK National
Archives (Kew, London) and the Mass observation Archives located at Sussex University.